All Worldviews Have Holes

First, a quote, and then some reflections on it:

Sincere seekers are often painfully aware of holes in their current philosophies — and every worldview that pretends to answer every important question does indeed have holes somewhere because it’s overreaching. So a worldview that seems to fill the irritating holes in a previously held philosophy can be very appealing, especially if it claims not to be subject to human limitations.

— Mary Johnson, in an interview with Hemant Mehta

I think the above quote is insightful and incredibly important. It helps make sense of why some people move from Catholicism to atheism and others from atheism to Catholicism, to give one example relevant to the interview with Johnson. Anyone who examines their own worldview carefully will spot holes, and the desire to fill them may lead that person to embrace another worldview, because it fills the holes that are painfully empty – not realizing that that worldview leaves other holes just as painfully unfilled.

Johnson’s insight may be helpful for those who find it puzzling that some of us choose to live with mystery, and to inhabit this or that imperfect worldview while acknowledging its limitations. For many of us, this is because we know that no worldview will completely satisfy or solve all mysteries. And so we prefer to live within a worldview and accept its weaknesses honestly, and focus instead on trying to be better people, rather than keep switching camps and arguing about which is better.

To paraphrase Micah 6:8, “We have been shown, oh human beings, what is good. And what does any decent worldview require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your Mystery.”